An impoverished man who entered a field to steal a couple of broccoli stalks was beaten and burned to death by a mob in central Mexico, prosecutors said Thursday.
Local police managed to get the man away from the village of San Miguel Tianguistenco, but he later died from his injuries. The area is east of Mexico City.
The chief prosecutor of the central state of Puebla vowed on Thursday to find and punish those responsible for the killing.
2 DIE IN PLANE CRASH IN GULF OF MEXICO SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM VENICE, FL
“A poor woman, out of necessity, went into a field to pick a couple of broccoli, and according to the preliminary information I have, that led to him being kidnapped, beaten and burned,” said prosecutor Gilberto Higuera.
Julio Huerta, the Secretary of the Interior of the State, said that about 150 inhabitants participated in the brutality. Initial reports suggest some beat the man with a baseball bat and others doused him in gasoline.
The man was identified only by his first name, Apolonio, in accordance with Mexican laws that protect the identities of crime suspects and victims.
“This is truly an act that we cannot ignore…we are going to charge everyone who committed this savage act,” Higuera said.
Mexico has seen these types of attacks with some frequency in the past.
In 2019, one of the largest mob killings in recent memory occurred in another town in Puebla, when residents killed seven men they accused of kidnapping.
English 
Español de Venezuela 